An adapter for a multipole U-section power track has a base that can be inserted into the slot of the power track and a head that sits outside the power track and to which an electrical device may be connected. A first operating shaft in the base has contact fingers for contacting electrical conductors provided in the power track and can move from a retracted position pivoted into the base to an outwardly pivoted contact position. A second switch assembly that can form a phase connection to a contact finger on phase is selectively contacted with the contact finger applied to the neutral conductor.
Power tracks of this type that may be used with and are usual for such adapters are found for instance in DE-OS 22 50 738 (FIG. 3). This document also shows such an adapter.
In the prior art there are different types of such adapters. For instance, adapters are known in which two operating shafts are provided that are coaxially adjacent to and spaced apart from one another. A first operating shaft mechanically links the adapter to the power track and connects the neutral conductor to the power track, while the second operating shaft selects the phase so that the adapter, which is a part of the consumer, is selectively connected to one of the three phases of the power track.
Other embodiments of such adapters are known, as well. Only one operating shaft is provided in these. Both the mechanical linking of the adapter to the power track and the outward pivoting of all contacts is accomplished by this one operating shaft. A slide provided with this adapter is physically adjacent the operating shaft and makes it possible to select the phases using appropriate slide positions.
All of these embodiments have in common that they require relatively large amounts of space because either two parallel operating shafts must be provided in the housing of the adapter or just one operating shaft and the space for an appropriate slide for phase selection.